WE Knife OSS Dagger

OSS SOE History

OSS or SOE Classroom WW2

British PM: “Set Europe Ablaze”

During the early 1940’s, the British were in deep resisting the German onslaught throughout Europe. In 1940 Churchill famously handed down the order to his Economic Warfare Minister to “Set Europe Ablaze”. That minister, Mr. Hugh Dalton, did just that. You see, the Brits, mainly Winston Churchill, realized that a different type of warfare was going to be needed to grind their advance to a halt. That halt would be accomplished by multiple means but mostly by irregular warfare actions such as abductions, ambushes, sabotage, and assassinations. The people that would be involved in these irregular warfare actions, as envisioned by the Brits, would be oppressed civilians under the German Jack Boot, and highly trained male and female agents that would be dropped behind enemy lines.

1940’s era picture of British soldiers training in sentry removal with the Fairbairn Sykes dagger.

Nothing like this had ever been fully organized and backed the way the Brits did it during WW2, and the Americans took notice. The Brits desperately needed the help of the USA, so they told the USA they would help them build their own secret agency like their SOE or Special Operations Executive. The American agency was known as the OSS or Office of Strategic Services… and the US agency was originally run by “Wild Bill” Donovan. Both agencies sent warriors into action behind enemy lines all over the world, whether it was in Europe or the Pacific, both agencies sent highly trained agents into some of the most dangerous situations ever recorded.

OSS Gear display

Agents Armament

These agents that were being sent behind enemy lines needed to be armed for as many situations as they could be. They had multiple options for attack and defense. The SOE and OSS would routinely drop weapons to these agents such as the .45ACP Liberator Pistol, 9mm Sten and Stirling sub guns and .45ACP Thompson sub-machine guns, poisons, various types of explosives and sabotage equipment, and many more supplies that would be needed by any resistance movement. There was another category of weapon that the SOE and OSS would routinely drop with the other weapons and supplies… edged weapons.

Instructors Blade Kit WW2

Instructors Blade Kit WW2 -2

Edged Weapons

Yes, edged weapons. Keep in mind, during the SOE/OSS training programs, there was a decent period of time and effort dedicated to dispatching enemies in many ways. One of the main tools that these agents trained to use effectively was the dagger. The SOE and OSS had multiple iterations of the dagger in their arsenal. There was the extremely well-known Fairbairn Sykes dagger (which is still in use by “certain units” and given to graduates about to join “certain units”), the Agents dagger, the Lapel Dagger, the Sleeve dagger, the Hatpin dagger, the Thumb dagger, and many more. Many of those daggers had what are called “cruciform blades” or “triangular blades”… meaning that the cross-section of the blade is either a cross shape or a triangle shape, lending itself to strength and the added benefit of causing massive damage to organic tissue. There were two other common blade profiles: the diamond profile such as the Fairbairn Sykes dagger, and the half-diamond or “chisel-ground” blade profile used on many thumb and lapel daggers.

Thumb Dagger Pocket Carry WW2 era

The WE Knife OSS Dagger Intro

The WE Knife OSS Dagger is a stellar reproduction of a WW2 Thumb dagger. Some might look at the length of it and refer to it more as a Lapel dagger, but either way, it is a superb example of the type of blade the SOE and OSS Agents would carry behind enemy lines. You may be asking: “Hey man, how did they use these knives during World War Two?” Good news, I’m going to tell you, and show you.

Thumb Dagger grip

WW2 Thumb and Lapel Dagger Carry Methods

These types of blades were carried up a sleeve, under the collar or lapel of a jacket, around a cord on the neck, with the sheath sewn into a pocket as well as many other unique carry methods derived in the theater of war. No matter where the knife was concealed, the agent would practice drawing it until the agent could deploy the small blade lightning fast. Once the weapon had cleared the sheath and was in hand, the agent would strike the German soldier in any one of many vulnerable areas.

Anatomy of back of Hand

Top Of The Hand Technique

One of the most well known was the back of the hand (See Above). That may sound strange to you until you realize what a deep cut to the back of the hand can do. Here is a drawing of the anatomy of the human hand. In it, you can see multiple veins, arteries, muscles, extensor tendons, and nerves are all there at the top of the hand.

Top Of Hand Technique WW2 OSS SOE Agents

The technique taught to agents was to slice deep into the top of hand multiple times, back and forth, with the double-edged blade. This attack was devastating to the enemy and was likely to render his hand inoperable, back in the day. Considering how many important structures there are at the top of the hand, it’s easy to see why this was such an effective technique.

Radial Artery Technique WW2 OSS SOE Agents

There were many other techniques that the agents could draw upon to use the thumb or lapel daggers to deadly effect, such as the Radial Artery Techniques, but for the sake of liability, we are going to limit how many techniques we show here.

Fairbairn’s Timetable

The other interesting factor in the training of how to use these types of blades was the Fairbairn Timetable of Death. It illustrates, in detail, the various Arteries, how big the arteries are, how far below the surface they are, how quickly the enemy will lose consciousness, and how fast loss of life will occur.

Fairbairn Timetable of Death WW2

lapel or thumb dagger grip technique 1

WE Knife OSS Dagger Package

The WE Knives OSS Dagger is very true to many of the original designs but includes its own modern looks and feel. The smart team over at WE Knives used G10 for the grip of the OSS Dagger. G10 is one of the toughest handle materials out there and it comes in multiple colors.

WE Knives OSS Dagger

The WE Knives OSS Dagger also uses CPM 20CV steel. This steel is incredible at edge holding ability, and the edge itself is damn sharp. The sheath is made of Kydex, a quality thermo moldable plastic that is used industry-wide for knife sheaths, and in many other industries including firearms holsters.

Black on Black WE Knives OSS Dagger package

G10 Grips

Side Note: I wasn’t originally sold on the toughness of G10 when I first started buying knives with G10 handles. So, I got a small 2” inch wide by 5” inch long piece that was 3/16” inch thick from a knifemaker friend. I tried to smash it with a hammer, that didn’t work. I tried to twist it with a vise and pliers, that didn’t work either. Then I tried to snap it in half, that didn’t seem to work either. That experience alone was enough to show me just how tough G10 could be. Anyways, moving on.

WE Knife OSS Dagger Specs

WE Knives OSS Dagger in sheath

The specs of the WE Knife OSS Dagger are:

Blade Steel: CPM 20CV
Blade Hardness (Rockwell): 58-60HRC
Blade Profile: Chisel Grind
Blade Finish: Stonewashed Black
Overall Length: 4.3″ / 109.3mm
Blade Length: 2.22″ / 56.4mm
Thickness: 0.13″ / 3.2mm
Weight: 0.72oz / 20.5g
Handle Inlay Material: Black G10
Sheath Type: Black Kydex

MSRP: $105.00

Sheath Accessories: Black Ball Chain and MOLLE Lok

OSS Dagger Designer: Justin Lundquist

WE Knives OSS Dagger backside

You will also notice in the pics that there is a small lanyard on the handle. I added that myself for retention purposes. It doesn’t come standard.

OSS Dagger Grips

There are some various retention techniques and grips that were taught to Agents by the OSS and SOE. Here are a few of the grips and an illustration of some of what was taught.

OSS Dagger Grips 1

OSS Dagger Grips 2

OSS Dagger Grips3

Carry Methods

There are many ways to mount these blades as well. You can mount this blade around your neck, on your belt, on your boot, and you can easily sew the sheath into your clothing if you want it to mount the blade under your collar, in your pocket, up your sleeve, or any one of multiple other places.

Neck Cary Method

Boot Carry Method

Belt Carry Method

These are a few of the various options for using this awesome little blade. If you have any other suggestions, feel free to talk about them in the comments. If you have any questions about other small knives like this, WW2 blades of this type, reproduction WW2 blades of any type, just ask in the comments.

My Thoughts?

The bottom line is this… with as much experience as I have with small hideout blades and WW2 reproduction edged tools, would I buy this knife for a last-ditch carry blade? Easy answer: YES! Absolutely! The steel is a great one, the handle material is a great one, the sheath is top of the line, comes ready to go with at least 4 built-in carry methods, and the knife comes very sharp from the factory. I am thoroughly impressed to say the least. If you are looking for a hideout blade, one that has an extremely flat profile, and a minimal concealment signature… this is your Huckleberry.

Where Do I find this Knife?

If you’d like to pick up one of the WE Knife OSS Daggers featured in this article, you have plenty of color options. You can get them in Black on Black/Stonewashed Blackened Stainless Steel with Black G10, Stonewashed Stainless Steel with Black G10, Stonewashed Stainless Steel with Green G10, Stonewashed Stainless Steel with Orange G10, and Stonewashed Stainless Steel with Blue G10.

Please visit: https://www.weknife.com/ to get your hands on high quality, top of the line blades.

And go to: https://www.weknife.com/products/weknife-oss-dagger-fixed-blade-neck-knife-with-kydex-sheath-2-22-cpm-20cv-blade-2018?variant=41693177348254 to get yourself your own OSS Dagger from WE Knife.

Thank you to WE Knives for allowing me to review this blade. If you have any questions for me, email me at: [email protected]

If you want to check out some of my other articles here on AP, go to: https://www.americanpartisan.org/2021/12/non-permissive-environment-tools-part-1/